A bench comprising justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said that the banks and telecom service providers should indicate the last date of linking bank accounts and mobile numbers with Aadhaar in the messages sent by them to their customers.

The Supreme Court on Friday asked banks to specify the last date for linking mobile phone numbers with Aadhaar card in email messages. According to a report by CNN News18, the apex court in its recent statement also stated that banks cannot send messages about Aadhaar without specifying the final date. Earlier today, the court also sought government’s response on four petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act and linking of bank accounts and mobile number with the 12-digit biometric identification number. However, Supreme Court did not pass any interim order in the matter saying that final hearing in all Aadhaar carrd related issues would start before another bench by the end of November and that Centre had already extended the deadline for the same till December 31.

A bench comprising justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said that the banks and telecom service providers should indicate the last date of linking bank accounts and mobile numbers with Aadhaar in the messages sent by them to their customers, reported PTI. “We make it clear that in the messages sent by banks and telecom service providers, the date of December 31, 2017 and February 6, 2018, shall also be indicated as the last date of linking Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile numbers,” the bench said earlier today.

The report also stated that the advocate appearing for one of the petitioners mentioned that government has set the deadline for linking Aadhaar may be extended till March 31, 2018. The bench also said that the petitioners can raise this issue before the court which would hear all Aadhaar-related matters in the last week of November.

“There is no doubt that these arguments need consideration. The matter is going to come up in the last week of November and the time (to link Aadhaar with bank accounts) has been extended till December 31,” the bench added.

According to PTI, a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Mishra on October 30 said that a constitution bench would be constituted and Aadhaar-related matters would come up for hearing before it in November last.